Where Should I Go - Dojo Size

by Tsuru
(Fort Lauderdale, FL)

I was practiced in one of the US largest dojo before. However, I moved to another state that doesn’t have lots of dojo to choose. They are unfortunately small and spread out far away.

Not all of them have wood floor, some of them are like fewer than 5 people include sensei.

So my question is- will the larger dojo that have more people will be better, and prefer wood floor dojo as well?

Answer: Thank you for your question. This is my personal opinion. So please overgeneralize it.

I do not think the number of members of a dōjō does not really matter. You should go for the quality of the dōjō.

Since you used to belong to one of the largest dōjō in the US, you cannot believe how small a kendo dōjō can be. It can be very small. At the dōjō I instruct, I sometimes get only 2 students. So including me, we only have 3 people.

About the floor. Yes, preferably wooden floor. But it is also hard to get an ideal floor for kendo.

I personally have looked around some properties but they do not really have wooden floor. Definitely they need to remodel the floor.

Plus, it is not easy to rent a place. If you are a university student, it can be easier but through my experience I can say it can get really hard.

I have trained on concrete too. Well, it was not in the USA.

Go for the quality. And if you decide which dōjō you go to, please help them out. Kendo people must help each other especially in areas where kendo population is small.

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer and Terms of Use | COMPENSATION AND AFFILIATION AFFIDAVIT | Contact.